No. 2 Clemson rolls to another ACC title
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Travis Etienne ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns, Trevor Lawrence threw two short scoring passes to Tee Higgins, and No. 2 Clemson beat Pitt 42-10 on Saturday night to become the first team to win four straight Atlantic Coast Conference championships.
Clemson (13-0, CFP No. 2) is expected to face third-ranked Notre Dame, which was idle Saturday, in the College Football Playoffs on Dec. 29.
The Tigers ran for 301 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 9 yards per carry on a dreary, rain-soaked night in which Lawrence was limited to 118 yards passing.
Clemson forced three turnovers, including two in the first half that gave the offense the ball inside the Pitt 10 and led to 14 points. The Tigers limited Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett to 8 yards passing and had nine tackles for a loss.
CENTRAL FLORIDA 56 MEMPHIS 41
Darriel Mack shrugged off two early turnovers to rush for three second-half touchdowns and rally the No. 8 Knights to a victory over the Tigers in the American Athletic Conference championship game at Orlando, Fla.
With the redshirt freshman filling in for injured quarterback McKenzie Milton, Central Florida (12-0) won its second straight league title and extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 25 games.
Mack also threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns without an interceptions to keep UCF, the only Football Bowl Subdivision team to finish undefeated a year ago, in the conversation about who’s deserving of consideration for berths in the College Football Playoff.
FRESNO ST. 19, BOISE ST. 16
Ronnie Rivers scored on a 1-yard run in overtime to give the No. 25 Bulldogs a victory over the No. 12 Broncos in the snowy Mountain West championship game at Boise, Idaho.
Fresno State (11-2) won its first conference title since 2013, beating the Broncos (10-3) on their blue turf for the first time in 10 tries.
ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM 27 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 25
Spencer Brown ran for 156 yards and a touchdown, Nick Vogel kicked a go-ahead field goal with 3:23 left, and the Blazers, who reinstated their program last season after a two-year hiatus, beat the Blue Raiders in the Conference USA title game at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The victory gave UAB (10-3) its first 10-win season and first CUSA championship. The program was shut down after the 2014 season before being reinstated and taking two years off.
ALCORN ST. 37, SOUTHERN 28
De’Shawn Waller ran 16 times for 177 yards and three touchdowns, and the Braves beat the Jaguars in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game at Lorman, Miss.
Alcorn State won its third SWAC title in five years and advanced to the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta to face MidEastern Athletic Conference champion North Carolina A&T on Dec. 15.
IOWA ST. 27, DRAKE 24
David Montgomery ran for 145 yards and two scores, and the No. 24 Cyclones barely survived a near-upset by the non-scholarship FCS Bulldogs in Ames, Iowa.
STANFORD 23, CALIFORNIA 13
Cameron Scarlett caught a short pass from K.J. Costello and raced 46 yards for one of his two touchdowns, and the Cardinal relied on its defense to beat the Golden Bears in Berkeley, Calif., for its ninth straight victory in the Big Game rivalry.
VIRGINIA TECH 41, MARSHALL 20
Ryan Willis threw touchdown passes to four different receivers in the first half as the Hokies improved to 6-6 and ran the nation’s-best bowl streak to 26 years with a win over the Thundering Herd in Blacksburg, Va.
FCS PLAYOFFS
Lance Dunn rushed for 127 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 1 seed North Dakota State routed visiting Montana State 52-10 in a second-round FCS playoff game. … Sam McPherson ran for 137 yards and two scores, and No. 3 seed Eastern Washington scored 39 straight points to beat visiting Nicholls 42-21. … Chris Ferguson threw for five touchdowns, and seventh-seeded Maine beat visiting Jacksonville State 55-27. … Chris Puzzi kicked a 38-yard field goal as time ran out to give host Colgate a 23-20 victory over James Madison.